About Damn Time!
by RenkonNairu
Summary: Mai's 35 and tired of waiting. Andy's still indecisive and wishy-washy. Finally fed up with him, she offers an ultimatum... R
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own King of Fighters or related characters. Such is the property of SNK and Neo Geo. I'm just borrowing them for some non-profit entertainment.

About Damn Time!

Chapter One:

The Pao Pao café was not the ideal place to spend New Years, in Mai's opinion at least. If she had had her way they would be celebrating back home at the Shiranui dojo, watching Kohaku Uta Gassen and eating osechi-ryori. But the Pao Pao café was where Andy was and so it was where she was.

Heaving a sigh of exasperation Mai leaned back from the bar and cast her eyes about the room, searching for her wayward lover. She spotted him at a small table in the far corner, sitting with Terry and Joe and chatting animatedly. He turned in her direction momentarily and their eyes met, she held his gaze in an attempt to remind him that she existed.

Andy nodded his understanding and turned back to the table. It looked like he asked a question because Terry shrugged his shoulders while Joe went fishing into his pockets. The Thai boxer withdrew his cell phone and, flipping it open, replied to Andy's inquiry.

'_Checking the time, of course.'_ Mai thought to herself.

Andy never bothered to wear a watch, they always broke to easily for him. Instead he relied on whomever he was with to know the time and if no one around him had a watch then he just guessed (and usually guessed wrong). But he couldn't afford to do that tonight. If Andy failed to kiss her at midnight Mai would flay him alive!

New Years was a big deal for Mai. Not only was it an excuse to make out with her fiancée, but January first was also her birthday and the day she had first fallen in love with Andy. When Andy had first come to train at the Shiranui dojo Mai was uninterested in him and only thought of him as another callous man only interested in his training. It wasn't until he gave her a present on her birthday that she saw him in another light and fell head over heals in love. Every year on the first of January she celebrated not only the New Year and her birthday but also what she considered to be her 'anniversary' with Andy (not that he knew or even cared, the callous ass!).

She watched him push his chair back from the table and stand. He drained his glass of whatever he'd been drinking before walking over and joining her at the bar.

"Popper?" He offered, extending an innocent looking cone to her. Its trigger-string hung loosely from its point as if begging to be pulled.

"I'll pass." She said and turned her attention to the small TV that hung from the ceiling. A blond reported in a Santa hat (to spite the fact that Christmas was two and a half month gone) was talking about how exiting things were in Time Square at the moment before the camera panned over a crowd of rowdy New Yorkers all screaming and cheering at the camera. Hah! If the reporter though that that was exciting then she'd never been to South Town.

"Less than a minuet." Andy said, tilting his chin at the TV where a timer in the bottom corner of the screen was counting down the time left until midnight.

She nodded her acknowledgment just as everyone else in the room began to chant "10… 9…" Andy joined in and on the count on "…1!" he paused, forgoing the exclamation of 'Happy New Year!' and gazed at Mai, waiting for her kiss. It was always Mai that seemed to be the one kissing Andy, Andy never seemed to initiate a kiss with Mai. Sometimes she was so sure of his feelings for her but then again there were other times (like now) when she really wondered about him. She'd known Andy for over twenty years and been in love with him for just as long and yet their relationship was in a constant state of limbo.

"Mai…?" He prompted when she still hadn't made her move.

Obediently she leaned forward and placed a chase kiss on his lips. "Happy 2009." She said when she pulled away.

"Happy thirty-fifth birthday." He responded and went fishing into his pockets. "I got this for you."

He extended a small box to her, not the short stubby kind like a ring box (unfortunately), but rather the long skinny kind that they put bracelets or necklaces in. "You shouldn't have." She said, accepting the gift when what she really meant to say was _'If your gonna get me jewelry, get me a wedding ring you ripe bastard!'_

Mai lifted the lid to reveal an elegantly crafted hairpin with twin tassels of red and white dangling from one end, tassels that were identical to the tails of her fighting costume that she used to launch her Ryu En Bu attack. This wasn't some mass produced piece of shine, this had to have been custom made and ordered weeks in advance, Andy must have put allot of thought into this. Maybe he was improving after all.

"Thank you." She said, removing it from its case and placing it in her hair at the base of her long ponytail.

"Its just a trinket." He shrugged, then looked at her quizzically. "You okay?"

'I'm thirty-five, un-married and in a relationship that's moving so slow I'm surprised we're not going backwards.' "I'm fine. Why do you ask?" She smiled sweetly.

"Its just, you seem a bit… never mind. You wanna go watch _Hatsuhinode?"_

"Andy, its still six hours until sunrise." She reminded him.

"Ah, right." He paused as if waiting for her to make a next move.

As previously stated, it was always Mai leading this little dance of theirs. Andy seemed incapable of making any moves without her prompting them first. He just couldn't be aggressive when it came to their relationship, on the contrary, he was to damn submissive for his own good. At first Mai had thought that it was because he was just shy, but over the years she'd slowly come to realize that he wasn't shy he was clueless. He needed to be lead in a relationship and Mai was getting just a bit tired of being the one to hold his hand. She wanted him to hold her hand every once in a while.

"You wanna get out of here and go some place quite?" She asked.

He nodded and stood. He had probably mistaken her statement of 'some place quite' for 'some place _private_' because there was just a bit of a spring in his step as she led him outside. Honestly, if he wanted sex he could have just as easily been the one to suggest they leave; he didn't have to keep putting every decision in their relationship up to her. Maybe if he took the initiative every once in a while he wouldn't be up for the disappointment of not getting any tonight.

"You wanna go for a walk?" She asked once they were outside. The night air was chilly at best and dirty brown and black snow was piled up in the gutters along the curb, not the most romantic way to spend New Years. But she knew they'd just end-up sleeping together if they went anywhere specific and tonight she wanted to talk.

Andy's disappointment was evident on his face. But he nodded all the same and fell into step beside her. Mai chose an arbitrary direction and they started walking.

"So, what are your plans for this new year?" She asked.

Andy just shrugged. "Same thing I do every year, I guess."

"You mean, train an insane amount of the time, ignore me almost all of the time, refuse to take part in the next KOF and send Hokutomaru in your place and, oh yeah, eat lots and lots of natto over spaghetti." She looked at him sideways. "Did I forget anything?"

"Well, I… that's not _all_ I do!"

"Of course, how silly of me." Mai replied sarcastically. "You'll also skate a few times around the Short Track."

"Did I do something to upset you recently? Because you've been acting weird all night."

"Actually, yes I am upset, Andy." She stopped walking so as to look him directly in the eyes. "But it has nothing to do with something you did. I'm upset over something you_ haven't done_."

"That again." He waved off her statement. Of course this was all over the fact that he still hadn't proposed. He knew that that was what she wanted, that nothing would make her happier than to finally get married to her 'Prince Charming'. Andy just didn't think he was ready for marriage, not yet anyway. He was still to focused on improving his skills. He wanted to eventually beat Terry and prove that he was the superior fighter.

Andy didn't think that he was yet capable of balancing his martial arts training with the duties of being a husband. Hell! He was only just _barely_ managing to manage his duties as a _boyfriend_, how could he ever hope to be a good husband to Mai is he couldn't even be a half-way decent boyfriend?

"I'm thirty-five, Andy." She continued. "I'm thirty-five and you're going to be turning thirty-seven this year. We're neither of us getting any younger. When are you going to be ready? Ever? Never?"

"Well…" He began, not quite sure how to continue. "Well, what difference would it make if you got married at thirty-five or fifty-five, as long as we're together you'll be happy, right?"

She gave a snort of derision. "Andy, there are some things I want that I just can't have at fifty-five."

"Like what?" He pressed. There was nothing that Andy could think of that he wanted now that he couldn't have twenty years from now.

"Like children." Mai said, her voice deadpan. "I'm already thirty-five, Andy, in another five years it won't be healthy for me to have kids anymore and another ten I won't be _able_ to have them. I know you may not care, but I do."

"I…" Andy began but then realized that he really didn't have anything to say. Visions of Mai presenting him with illusions of babies at the King of Fighters tournaments danced through his head as his mind searched for the right words to say.

Of course, he'd always know that Mai wanted children. But he'd never really given the idea much thought himself, the idea always seemed to produce copious levels of anxiety for him and so he tried no to think about it. If he didn't think he was responsible enough to be a husband then he _really_ wasn't responsible enough to be a father.

"I don't think that's something I can give you." He said at last. "I can't be the kind of person you'd need me to be. I'm not…" He trailed off.

"Look, I know you have issues with commitment. But you've been with me for the past thirteen years, surely you can see that if you can commit to a relationship for that long you can commit to a marriage."

"I'm…"

"Look, you don't have to decide anything tonight." She tilted her head up and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "I know how bad you are at snap decisions. Just know that I'm getting impatient and if you don't make a decision by the time the next KOF is announced then I'll make the decision for you."

Andy swallowed a lump that suddenly formed in his throat. "Deal." He said.

…

"So then, what are ya gonna do?"

It wasn't until Terry and Joe's New Years hangovers had worn off that Andy was able to recount his conversation with Mai to them. They were now gathered in the living room of Terry's South Town apartment (Rock was no where to be found but for some reason this didn't seem to surprise Terry).

"I don't know." Andy admitted. "That's why I'm talking to you two. Tell me what I should do."

"I think you've been stringing her along long enough and you should finally man-up and marry her." Terry admitted, a bit callously but then again he'd just recovered from a hangover and wasn't exactly the most empathetic guy in the world right now.

"I think you should finally dump her and find someone younger and hotter." Joe declared. "Someone who's not as pushy or mouthy either."

"There is _no one_ on Earth hotter than Mai." Andy said, his voice overflowing with conviction. "But she and I want different things from life and I don't think I can give her what she wants."

"You mean you can't be what she wants you to be." Terry translated. "Being a parent's not that hard, Andy. If I can raise the son of my enemy into a half-way decent person that manages to earn strait Cs on all his school work I'm sure you're more than capable of raising a kid of your own."

Joe looked at Andy thoughtfully for a moment. "No. I just don't see it. He'd be much better-off just finding a new squeeze."

"Mai is not my 'squeeze'!" Andy snarled at his friend. He knew that Joe and Mai had never liked each other but it would still be nice if he could at least pretend to be telling Andy to get over her for Andy's sake and not just because he wanted to be rid of her.

"Okay, Andy, let me put it to you like this: You have to decide which is more important to you, Mai or your freedom." Terry said in all seriousness. "If Mai's most important to you then you bite the bullet and become the man she needs you to be. If not, then you step back, let go of her so that she can find the kind of man she needs in someone else. Can you do that?"

"Yeah." Andy said and then lapsed into silence. He really did care about Mai, allot, he might even go as far as to say that he was in love with her (though he'd never say it out loud). Mai's actions perplexed him allot of the time but that was one of the things that made her so fun to be around and he was willing to do anything to protect her. Not just to protect her body but protect her happiness as well. But if him becoming a husband and father was what would make her happy… he didn't think he could successfully accomplish that, not the way she wanted him to and especially not in the time-frame she needed.

"I want Mai to be happy." He said. "So I guess I should do the honorable thing and bow out so she can find what she needs."

…

They met up at the Pao Pao café to talk. Mai was actually quite surprised he was able to come to a decision so quickly. She sat impassively as Andy told her what he'd decided and his reasons behind it.

"Okay." She said when he'd finished.

"'Okay'?" Andy echoed. "You mean you're not mad?"

"No, its fine."

Something was wrong; she was taking this way, _way_ to well. She should be throwing a fit right now, screaming, calling him names, throwing chairs. Either that or she should be catatonic. But she just sat there calmly as if appraising him.

"I've been doing some thinking." She explained after a prolonged pause. "I'm perfectly stable financially right now and have been living alone for a while, I don't really _need_ a husband. So I'm going to let you leave with no big fuss, in return I want something from you."

"Like what?"

"I want a baby, Andy." She reminded him. "And I'm tired of waiting for you to get your act together." She took a tin of TicTacs out o her purse and popped one into her mouth. "So, where do you want to go to get this done? Oh, do you want a mint, by the way?"

"What? No! I mean… what!?" He felt his face turning a bright beet red. Was Mai saying what he thought she was saying? She had given up and him, was fine with him leaving but before he did she wanted him to get her pregnant. He did hear that correctly, right? She didn't want him anymore, she just wanted his _seed_!

"Oh, jeez, Andy." She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Its not like we've never had sex before, and I'm not going to make you do anything more than that. Its not like I'm making you sign up to have and to hold. You should be relived."

He sputtered helplessly for a few moments longer.

"I don't see why you're so flustered."

No words came to mind. Andy was completely and totally dumbfounded. Mai's actions often perplexed him but they had always been a bit more… _mellow_ compared to this. Mai had never been this…_ extreme_ in her demands before. This was so far out of his experience that he had no idea what to do or say.

"Well, fine." Mai finally said, breaking the silence between them, and stood. "Since you seem so flustered I guess I'll give you a little more time to think about it. Our plain back to Japan leaves tomorrow, you have until it touches down at Tokyo International to get used to the idea or marry me."

"But…"

"These are your _only _options." She declared adamantly and left.

"But…"

…

(A/N: According to the SNK Wiki Mai was born in 1974, which would make her 35 years old by now. Andy was 1973, so he's 36 (and will turn 37 this August –that's right, I'm a complete fantard!). Hasn't SNK kept them from finally tying the knot long enough? I had heard that they did finally get together at the end of one of the games but I haven't been able to find and play it, neither have I found videos of it on YouTube. So, I've decided that that was just rumor after all. If someone does know which game it was, please, don't hesitate to tell me, either in a review or by PM.)

Next chapter up soon!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. I own nothing, not even the plot, really.

About Damn Time!

Chapter Two:

It was early evening when Rock finally returned from wherever he'd been spending his New Years. The teenage fighter expected to see Terry stretched out on the living room couch like he usually tended to be whenever he was home and so was mildly surprised to see Terry's younger brother Andy there instead. The blond ninja was laying face down on the couch, his long hair falling forward to obscure his features.

"Yo." Rock said, entering the room. "What are you doing here?"

"Dying." Andy groaned in answer without lifting his head.

Rock was puzzled, he didn't look injured. Maybe he was poisoned, or his chest wound was acting up again. Rock was about to inquire further when Terry entered with a bottle of Jack in one hand and two empty glasses in another. Ah, so it was one of those kinds of problems then.

"Leave 'im alone, kiddo." Terry ordered.

Rock nodded and obediently left the room.

Terry set the glasses down on the coffee table and poured himself and Andy each a share of the Jack Daniels.

"Now," he said, offering a glass to Andy, "start over again and this time speak slower and try not to jump between English and Japanese so much."

Andy sat up and accepted the offered alcohol. He sipped it experimentally and then downed the rest in one big gulp. "Mai was completely chill with the break-up." He said as he reached to refill his glass and had to marvel at the fact that he was able to keep from shaking.

"Wow." Terry said, disbelieving. "Lucky break for you."

"No." Andy corrected taking another sip of Jack. "In return for letting me go, Mai wants a child, she wants me to get her pregnant before I walk away."

"And you're okay with this?"

"Hell no!" He was already halfway through his second glass. "Well, I donno. It'll make her happy."

"You really think so?" Terry asked. "'Cause, from what I know of Mai, she may be alright with having a kid by herself but I don't think she could ever be happy if she weren't having it with the man she loves." He looked pointedly at Andy.

"You probably think I'm horrible, don't you." Andy drained his second glass and reach for the bottle to refill it again, then changed his mind and set the empty glass down keeping the bottle in stead.

"Go easy on that, will ya."

"I _can_ hold my liqueur, ya know." Andy grumbled, taking a swig from the bottle as he said this. "She's wanted a kid for a while. Remember how she used to torture me with those baby-illusions during tournaments?"

"Yeah, I remember." Terry nodded, taking a sip from his glass for the first time. "I also remember you being horrified-shitless. Not because you thought she had had a kid, but because you thought she had had a kid and you weren't there for her or it. Do you really think you can live with yourself not being there for your child, for real this time?"

"I don't know." Andy took another swig of Jack.

Terry did have a point. The thing that had frightened him most when Mai had presented him with perfectly life-like illusions of children back in 1999 and 2001 hadn't been the idea that she had had a child but that he hadn't been there to help her through it. But then again, wasn't that just more proof that he really wasn't husband and father material. Mai was probably making the smarter decision by letting him go. He just didn't feel right about leaving. _'Grr! So much drama over something that hasn't even happened yet!'_

"God! I'm so indecisive, I'd make a terrible father!" Andy moaned.

"You'd be better than some fathers I can name." Rock's voice drifted from around the corner.

"Oi! You!" Terry called. "Stop ease-dropping."

"Fine." Rock came around the corner and sat next to Terry. He reached for Terry's still half full glass of Jack Daniels.

"Not until you're older." Terry said, placing the drink just out of reach.

"Ya know, in Japan the drinking age is sixteen." Andy said as if this were his 'random fact of the day'.

Rock looked hopeful.

Terry glared daggers at his brother. "Well, we're not in Japan now are we." Then he turned to Rock. "Did you need something?"

"Right." He turned addressing Andy. "I hate my dad." He said. "I never met _that man_ until I was seven and it wasn't so much to meet him as to beg him to help my mom. Mom was sick and wanted to see him, he was loaded and could have gotten her the medical attention she needed, but he didn't. He didn't even want to have anything to do with me, and mom died that same night."

The boy locked eyes with the American ninja. "I don't know you as well as I know Terry, but if you're anything alike I think you should go back and tell Mai that you've changed your mind and you're going to do the right thing."

"And what is 'the right thing'?" Andy asked, meeting Rock's eyes glare for glare. "What if I go back to Mai and marry her like I think you're saying I should and I turn out to be just as bad as Geese was?"

"You won't be anything like that man." The boy said. "You wanna know why? Because you care and worry enough to ask yourself that question."

Terry couldn't help but beam with pride at Rock's display of depth and maturity. He was only seventeen but was already displaying the wisdom of one twice his age.

"You sound so sure of yourself." Andy said. "What would you know about it, really? You're barely old enough to shave."

"Alright then, I'll pose a different question: Jeffry Bogard wasn't your real dad, you and Terry were adopted, right?"

"Oi!" Terry interrupted. Rock was skidding dangerously close to a sensitive arena. After all, it had been his father that had killed their father. Terry may have been able to see Rock as more than just the son of Geese Howard but he had his doubts about Andy, the man had a tendency to hold grudges just a bit longer than Terry did.

"Just a minuet, Terry." Rock shushed him. "How old were you when you were adopted?"

Andy regarded the boy before him for a moment, as if appraising a possible threat. "Six." He finally answered.

"And before that it was just you and Terry on the streets, no parents to speak of, and nothing but the shitty Foster Care system to care for you, right." Rock pressed. "Well, wouldn't it have been better if you'd had a dad back then to take care of you? What if something happens to Mai, Ninja is a very dangerous occupation after all. What if something horrible happened to her, who would take care of the kid then? Huh?"

"Grr! I am not gonna sit here and take this from Geese's spawn!" Andy snarled.

"Okay, kiddo." Terry stood and effectively placed himself between his brother and his ward. "I think we could go for some dinner. Here's fifty bucks." He handed a wad of cash from his wallet that may or may not have totaled fifty to Rock. "Why don't you go out and get us something while we grown-ups finish talking."

"Yeah, fine." The boy said, taking the cash and exiting the room.

Once the door had been thoroughly slammed to announce Rock's departure Terry heaved a huge sigh of exasperation. "He did make a few good points ya know." He told Andy. "I really think that this is a poorly thought out plan and you and Mai need to talk this out a bit more, _allot_ more actually."

"Hn." Was all Andy could say in reply.

…

A flight announcement rent the air of the already noisy South Town Airport and sent poor Andy's already pounding head to splitting with pain. He placed a hand to his forehead in a vain attempt to block out the offending noise and teetered precariously on his unsteady legs. The blond ninja sourly wished that Jack Daniels were a real person so that he could kill him right now.

Mai placed a hand on his shoulder and steadied him as best she could. "That's what you get for staying up all night drinking." She scolded. "I don't know what you were thinking! You knew we had a flight to catch, you moron. Well, you'll get no sympathy from me."

"Good. Then shut-up." He snapped.

Andy regretted the words the moment he'd said them. Its jus that he felt like such crap, his head was killing him, he hadn't gotten all that much sleep last night and her shrill chiding was just making everything worse. Couple that with the fact that he was waging his own internal struggle about her proposition from yesterday and it should have been understandable for him to be a bit cranky. But every time he snapped at Mai he always ended up feeling like such a villain and he had no idea why.

Maybe he was a bit of a villain. After all, he had put off marrying her for so long that she was now forcing herself to chose between him (her one true love) and a possible child (something she'd wanted for almost as long as she'd wanted to marry him). Was it evil of him to deny her the two things she wanted most out of the world for so long? Perhaps not 'evil' but it was definitely 'cruel'.

She tried her best not to deny him the things he wanted or get in the way of his goals. She let him train the long hours he felt he needed to surpass his brother and only bothered him when his training became excessive or he pushed himself to hard for to long.

She would barge onto Jubei-sensei's property, no announcement and no explanation (not that she really needed the latter one) and pull him from his strict regiment (forcibly if necessary). She'd tend his wounds if he had any, put ice on his wrists or ankles, sew his split knuckles or massage out his tired and stiff muscles, then she would drag him out on a date. Out of the Yamada dojo among people, in the real world, a world that didn't revolve around fighting and becoming the strongest, out among real people.

Then after that, after she would pull him away from his practice, tend his injuries and provide him with some frivolous respite she would take him back to the Yamada dojo (or even the Shiranui dojo sometimes) and they would make love. No, 'make love' was to soft a term for it, it was more like 'fuck like bunnies' but really it all amounted to the same thing.

But if Mai was willing to do all that for him and put up with so much crap from him shouldn't he be willing to meet her half way? Willing to give up a part of himself just as she had given up so much time and effort of her own for him?

Another announcement crackled over the loud speakers and Andy pressed the other hand to his head, dropping his carry-on in the process. He felt Mai shove him into one of those 'not quite as comfortable as they should be' chairs by their gate.

"Hang tight here." She ordered. "I'm gonna get you some coffee. If you start puking when we take off I swear I will kill you."

Her empty threat would have make him chuckle had he been in better spirits. As it were he was just happy she wasn't shrieking. A styrofoam cup was placed in his hands and he sipped it slowly.

He had just snapped at her and yet she was still willing to do nice things for him. True, getting a cup of crappy airport coffee wasn't particularly note worthy, but it was the most recent example of Mai doing something for him and him doing nothing. Maybe she would be better off without him, he would be a terrible influence on her child, that was for sure.

'_What if something horrible happened to Mai, who would take care of the kid then?' _ Rock's words echoed through his head unbidden.

Andy cast a sideways glance at the bewitching beauty that now sat beside him going over their flight's itinerary. What if he did go through with this… this _plan_ of hers and then left? What if something terrible did happen to her after that?

An image rose to the surface of him mind, a memory of himself and Terry living back in South Town before they had met Jeff, before they had been adopted. The Foster Care system in America was crap back in the late 70s, is still crap now but it was worse back then.

They kept moving them, he and Terry, from one home to another, one family to another. They didn't have suitcases and so all their stuff, their clothing and few possessions were moved in big black trash bags as if to say that that was what they were no better than, _trash_. You were garbage if you didn't have any parents of your own. Sometimes they got to stay together, but allot of the time they were split up, sent to separate homes that were, sometimes, on opposite ends of the city.

One night Terry had finally gotten fed up with it all and run away. He had come to the house where Andy was staying and the two had run away together. South Town was not an easy place to live for most adults; it was near impossible for two prepubescent children to fend for themselves. The brothers took up temporary residence in an abandoned warehouse in South Town's industrial district where a number of runaway children seemed to have gathered forming a sort of 'tribe'.

They lived that way, off the streets for a little over a year before Terry had run into Jeff. That had been the single defining moment of their lives, when Jeffry Bogard had decided to adopt them both as his own. Before that they had been living what Andy secretly referred to as the 'child's version of Hell', if something happened to Mai he didn't think he could stand his own child living like that.

Another PA announcement rent his thoughts asunder. Damn these airports had allot of announcements to make! Perhaps he should stop. These thoughts were just a bit to heavy for one still hung-over. He had the flight to LAX all the way on the West Coast and then from there to Tokyo International, a total of twelve hours to spend in deep contemplation about Mai's proposition. He'd best pace himself.

…

"So I guess you're going to the Yamada dojo from here?" Mai asked.

They now stood at the baggage claim of Tokyo International Airport, waiting for _her _luggage that Andy knew she was going to make _him_ carry.

"Uh… yeah." He admitted. That had been his original plan. After coming back from New Years in South Town with his brother and friends he had hoped to return to the Yamada dojo to continue refining his skills in the hopes of one day defeating Terry. Though, he had a feeling that wasn't what he was going to be doing now.

"Okay. I'll call on you there after you get settled." Mai said this as if announcing a causal social call. "Now that I think about it, its good that we're already not living together. It makes the break-up part so much neater, not messy. Don't you agree?"

'_This whole damn thing is messy!_' He wanted to shout. Instead he just said, "Yeah."

He was still having his doubts about the whole thing but Mai had made her position clear, as well as the fact that he really didn't have a choice in that matter. So unless he was suddenly rendered infertile or impotent she would hound him until he gave her what she wanted and he had better get used to the idea.

"Great!" She was all bubbles and cheer. "Oh, and this time, I don't care if you leave your socks on or not."

Andy just stifled a groan.

…

Yamada Jubei was shoveling the courtyard of his humble mountain home when Andy came trudging up the steep steps.

"Tadaima." He said upon seeing his old master, it was more of a sigh than an announcement but he felt to tired and drained at the moment to manage anything more.

"Okaeri." Jubei answered, not bothering to look up form his neat pile of crushed snow. He lifted an eyebrow when Andy strode silently past him without another word. The old judo master kicked up a clump of snow and sent it flying into the back of his former pupil's head just before he could enter the dojo.

"What was that for?" The blond ninja indignantly demanded.

"Don't you have something to tell me?" Jubei demanded, impaling his shovel in the snow and crossing his arms over his chest.

"New Years was great, thanks. It was nice getting to spend some time with my brother."

"Not that, you idiot." The old master flared. "Mai! I'm talking about you and Mai-chan! When were you gonna tell me you're having a kid? I had to find out about it through text!" He pulled a Blackberry from the sleeve of his haori and pulled up the message in question.

Andy took a step forward and noted that the message had been sent from Joe's phone. The next time he saw the Muay Thai boxer he was going to give him a good punch up the bracket for this!

"What are you even doing here anyway?" Jubei continued. "Unless you're just here to pick up your stuff you have no excuse for not being at the Shiranui dojo with her right now. When's the wedding, by the way? Or am I gonna have to go and find a shotgun before you finally man-up?"

"Um, Sensei, Mai's not pregnant." Andy tried his most soothing tone. While he may molest her and disrespect her personal space, Jubei had been the best friend of Mai's grandfather and, as such, fancied himself a sort of 'foster-father' to her. Andy felt suddenly weary of the possible thread that Master Jubei might pose to his health.

"She's not?" The old man paused momentarily in his ranting.

"No." He tried his best to maintain that tone of soothing calm, this time more for himself and his own nerves then Jubei's. "Joe just jumped the gun. Mai _wants_ to have a baby, that's all."

"Oh." And he was the same old eccentric mentor again, gone was the hostile and over protective father figure. "Same as usual then. Now I feel bad about scaring Hokutomaru-kun with all those horror stories of female mood swings. Poor boy. Would you mind going and finding him for me? I think he's hiding out with the monkeys up in the mountains."

Andy found himself stifling another groan.

…


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Don't own it, just playing with it.

About Damn Time!

Chapter Three:

Andy found Hokutomaru easily enough. His apprentice's bright red scarf stood out boldly against the stark white background of the snow-covered mountains of Japan in January. He casually strode up to the tree in which the teenage ninja crouched and lightly kicked the trunk three times as if knocking on a door.

"Oi, gaki!" He shouted up at the boy.

"Andy-sensei." The boy jumped down from his tree happily enough. Once his feet touched the ground, however, he glanced around nervously. "Shiranui-neesama isn't with you, is she?"

Andy found himself suppressing the urge to face palm. "No. Mai's not here."

The boy was suddenly all smiles.

"Okaeri na sai, Sensei!" The fourteen year old wrapped his arms around the blond ninja's torso and gave him a bear-like hug. "I got worried because Jubei-sensei said that Neesama was going to turn into a monster -or a battle axe- and breath fire and bite people's heads off."

Andy heaved a sigh. When they got back to the Yamada dojo he was going to have a talk with the old master about frightening the boy's inexperienced and inordinately gullible mind. They were supposed to be slowly trying to acclimate him to the real world, not scare him farther from it.

"But, kiddo, I thought you knew." Andy said, unable to resist. "Mai's always been like that."

The boy's eyes grew wide with fear.

"And if you could stand to be around her before, you can stand to be around her again. C'mon." He grabbed the boy by the shoulder and pulled him in the direction of the dojo. "It's cold out and _you_ forgot to grab a jacket, young man."

…

As promised, Mai came to the Yamada dojo not long after Andy had gotten settled. He was practicing his forms when he spied her sultry form, clothed in tick winter wear as it was, scaling the steep dojo steps. He retreated from the courtyard almost immediately; before she could climb high enough to know he had been there.

Hokutomaru gave him a quizzical look when he re-entered the dojo flustered and in a huff.

"Listen!" He said, grabbing the boy's shoulders in a panic. "When Mai comes asking for me tell her I'm not here, okay? I'm up in the mountains training or in Tokyo visiting with Joe, I'm dead, I'm on the moon, I don't care! Just tell her anything."

The boy nodded in confusion but accepted his orders all the same. "But, Sensei, weren't you the one that said there was no reason to fear Shiranui-neesama?"

The boy was right. His contradictory words and behavior were setting a terrible example for the young and naïve ninja. Not to mention he was just being plain, damn, _spineless_ by hiding from Mai in a vain attempt to delay what seemed to have become inevitable. But what Mai was asking of him was something that he just couldn't do.

He couldn't marry her and be the man she wanted because he lacked the patients and maturity for such a thing. This very attempt to hide was proof enough of that. And he couldn't just father a child for her and then walk away; it just wasn't in his character. The morals that Jeff Bogard had drilled into him as a child forbid it!

Andy heard the main door slide open behind him and Mai's lyrical voice ring out with a cheerful "Tadaima!"

No time to think on these things right now. Now he had to get away, he would have plenty of time to beat himself up once he was safely away from the sensually seductive succubus that was Hell bent on stealing his seed. He dashed passed Hokutomaru and out the back entrance of the dojo.

"Remember: I'm not here!" He called back and then disappeared.

Hokutomaru stood there like a dear caught in the headlights. Abandoned by his master with the ever frightening Shiranui-neesama drawing near, his simple and inexperienced mind had no idea what to do. If he ran like his master her wrath would be all that more severe not to mention that Andy-sensei might be disappointed in him for disobeying his instructions. But Neesama was very frightening and he didn't like the idea of standing between her and her objective.

His indecision was his folly. Mai came around the corner and spotted him right away.

"Hoku-chan!" She smiled sweetly. "Look how tall you've gotten!" She patted him on the head affectionately. "Pretty soon you'll be even with Andy." Another sweet smile. "Where is he, by the way? He and I have some business to take care of."

The fourteen year old fighter stuttered momentarily. "H-he… Sensei's visiting Higashi-kun in Tokyo!" The boy shut his eyes to Mai and dutifully carried out the orders Andy had given him. "Their training in the mountains, he's not here, he's dead, he's on the moon!" The boy peeked one eye open just enough to gauge Neesama's reaction and see whether or not he should also run.

"I… see…" She said slowly, tapping her chin with a single, perfectly manicured fingernail. "In Tokyo, in the mountains, dead _and _on the moon. However does he mange that, I wonder…"

Her words were curious, her tone thoughtful but her air, her air was suddenly that of the deceptive calm just before a typhoon, the retreat of the sea before a tsunami. Hokutomaru suddenly found himself desperately trying to make peace with whatever God would decide his fate before the storm that was Shiranui-neesama broke, before the wave crashed and he was swept up in the current of her rage.

"Hoku-chan," she began.

"H-hai, Neesama." He stood at attention with a rigidness that would have made a steel rod blush.

"Which way did he run after he told you to lie like that?" Her sweet smile this time was that of a viper before it struck.

"That way!" He pointed, more than willing to give up his master if it meant saving his own hide.

"I see. Thank you." She strode past him offering nothing more than another pat on the head.

He had survived this time. The boy sank to his knees, weak with relief.

…

Between his naturally fair completion, pale blond hair and preference for white clothing, Andy was able to blend and hide well with the pure January landscape. He watched Mai exit the dojo through the same door he had from the concealment of an evergreen's snow laden branches.

She looked to the left and right, briefly scanning the immediate area for any obvious signs of him. When she found none she changed from her heavy flannel jacket and blue jeans to a variation of her standard red fighting costume, this one with a black thermal body suit underneath that clung to her flesh like a second skin, providing warmth in the cold weather without restricting her movement.

He paused momentarily to admire the way the black material accentuated her luscious curves against the white background of the snow before backing up against the rough bark of the tree's trunk. He recognized the posture of a predator when he saw one. Usually the vision of Mai as a huntress exited him but not today, today he was scared shitless. Andy had never imagined himself as her prey before, he'd never imagined himself as _anyone's_ prey. Now here he was, hiding with his back pressed against the figurative wall because to flee would also be to give away his position.

His heart jumped when she vanished from view in a blur of red and black. As a ninja, Mai was adept at stealth and climbing. For all he knew she could be coming up behind him right now.

He heard something whistling through the air a faction of a second before the top of his tree was lopped off. Andy had barely enough time to leap to the next tree before the top of the evergreen came crashing down on him, but the damage was done, he'd lost his hiding place and was now open and exposed in the naked branches of a leafless birch.

"Nice dodge, Andy!" Mai's voice rang out from another tree that had likewise been stripped bear by winter. She leapt from her tree and rolled into a forward flip, landing on the same branch on which he stood.

"M-Mai, its good to see you."

"'Its good to see you'?" She echoed. "How can you lie so smoothly, you heartless beast?"

She lashed out at him with her fans, one in each hand. He caught her wrists effortlessly and held them both in a stalemate.

"I can explain." Actually, he couldn't. He was just stalling until he thought up another way to deny her what she was asking of him.

"I don't care about your explanations." She snarled. "You've got a job to do and you're gonna _do it_! I don't see what your big problem is. After everything's said and done you get to go back to your precious training and never have to worry about little ol' me again. You should be happy! Why are you fighting me one this?"

'_Never have to worry about her again?'_ He would worry about her twice, no, three times as much knowing he had fathered a child with her and then just left. "You honestly think this is what will make me happy!?"

"Well, why _not_?" She snapped. "You get what you want and I get what I want. Every body's happy!"

"I don't want…" '_What?'_ What didn't he want? He didn't want to leave Mai, he didn't want to marry her, he didn't want to leave a child of her's fatherless, he didn't want to be a father. Why couldn't things just stay as they were? He wanted to continue as they always had! Was that so hard for her? Did she really need the change so much?

Mai took advantage of his indecision to launch a Ryu En Bu at him. Andy was flung back and landed on his ass, nearly falling out of the tree in the process. She grabbed him by the wrist and, pulling them both down from the tree, dragged him back inside the dojo. She kept a firm grip on him until they were safely inside his bedroom, the door securely locked behind them.

Andy felt suddenly trapped. Sure the walls were just wood and paper, he could break through them and escape easily, but what then? Mai would just find him again and bring him back. Or if not here, then a hotel with drywall walls that he couldn't penetrate. She was persistent and would have her way no matter what.

"Now then…" She stalked toward him, removing the sash that held her red tunic shut. The material coiled on the floor as the tunic slipped from her shoulders. She then proceeded to peal off that second-skin of a jumpsuit she had worn for warmth, all the wile moving ever closer to him.

Andy backed up unconsciously, placing himself at the foot of his futon. Mai smirked in what was probably triumph and, swinging her leg out, kicked his knees out from under him. The American ninja fell backwards onto his ass for the second time that day, landing himself dead center on the bed.

Mai was on top of him before he had a chance to register the severity of his situation. Her hands pinning his wrists down so that he couldn't move. It was like the time she'd taken his virginity all over again only this time he was less exited and more apprehensive.

"To much clothes…" She muttered, bring his wrist together above his head and holding them there with one hand. Her other hand, now free, busied itself untying the sash that held his pants shut.

Sensing an opening, Andy brought his legs together and kicked up with as much force as he could given his disadvantageous position. Mai was thrown forward and forced to somersault off of him to avoid bashing her head on the floor. Now freed, Andy reclaimed a standing position, his pants hanging precariously from his narrow hips.

"I can't do this!" He said.

"What?" She demanded, sitting on her knees and bring her arms up to cover the swell of her generous breasts. "What can't you do!?"

"Leave you!" He shouted back. "I can't leave you! I can't just father a child on you and then walk away. I just _can't, _Mai! Its one of those things that I just cannot do."

"Men do it all the time!"

"I'm not one of them!" He roared. "I can't leave you! If you want a child I have to be there! I _have_ to! Its just one of those things that I have to do! I'll marry you! I…" He paused, suddenly aware of the words that were poring out of his mouth. "I have to… marry you…" He sank back down to sit on the bed, stunned and in sock of his sudden epiphany.

"Andy…?" Mai managed, her heart in her throat. Did he really just say what she thought he just said? Was she hearing right?

"Mai." He looked up at her, his expression suddenly vulnerable. "Marry me?"

The urge to squeal and throw herself into his arms bubble up inside her but she forced it back down. This couldn't be real. Andy Bogard had just asked her to marry him, this had to be yet another one of her dreams. She held the skin of her arm between her thumb and index fingers and pinched hard enough to make her eyes water. No, she was awake, this was real, Andy _had_ just proposed to her.

"Mai…?" He ventured, suddenly unsure.

That was when the squeal of pleasure erupted from her lips. She pounced on him, throwing them both backwards onto the futon.

"Yes! Let's get married!" She all but shouted.

Andy put his hands on her shoulders and held her at arms length for a moment. "I'm still going to train allot." He said, not breaking eye contact. "I still want to beat Terry one day. I won't give that goal up just because we're married."

She had a feeling he would say something like that. She might have finally worn him down, but Andy's life, his true love, and his lady would always be his Kappoken and Ninjitsu –his martial arts. But she practiced those to and so didn't mind sharing his heart with them. If anything it was an activity they could do together.

"Get over here and give me a baby!" She ordered as her way of telling him everything was fine.

Andy was more than happy to oblige and closed the distance between them to plant an ardent kiss on her soft, ruby red lips.

…

(A/N: And with that this fiction is officially complete! Whoot! I was thinking of adding an epilogue, taking place during KOF XII (because XII has no story I can use it without fucking with the cannon), but I'm not sure. You guys will just have to tell me what you think. Feedback is my best friend. :wink: )


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